Biometrics, verification curb social grant fraud

The South African government has managed to save R13.1 billion by cutting down on social grant fraud through improved administration and verification methods. In response, National Treasury plans to adopt similar strategies for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme bursaries and housing subsidies, according to the agency. The high-level documents, released alongside the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, project a total of R38.1 billion in savings over the 2027 medium-term expenditure framework period.

These savings stem from social grant verification, efficiency gains in national departments, halting housing settlement grants, and surplus funds in public entities.

Enhanced biometric enrolment and beneficiary verification played a significant role in the savings within the social grants system. The majority of these savings were attributed to the social relief of distress grant, which has been flagged for fraudulent and unlawful payments. Consequently, the reduced fraud has led to the redirection of these savings towards other government initiatives.

Treasury predicts a decline in the number of social grant beneficiaries from 17.8 million in 2026/27 to 17.1 million by 2029/30, resulting in additional savings of R6.2 billion.

These anticipated savings will be prioritized to combat gender-based violence and femicide, as well as support critical health sector efforts aimed at mitigating child malnutrition and stunting. Social grants are state-funded support for eligible individuals, including the elderly, disabled, or children, administered by the Social Security Agency (SASSA) under the Department of Social Development.

With 18.1 million beneficiaries, the state provides various forms of assistance, such as old-age, disability, and child support grants. In 2024, Treasury had previously announced stringent database crosschecks on SASSA following allegations of fraud and unlawful grant recipients, including the digitization of applications and disbursement processes, the rollout of digital identification documents, and the establishment of a centralized website for all government services.